


Alpenglow

by vagrantBreath



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, Pining, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-05
Updated: 2016-09-12
Packaged: 2018-08-13 07:15:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7967431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vagrantBreath/pseuds/vagrantBreath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lance watches the sunset every time Allura goes to plan how to liberate a planet from Galra rule.</p><p>Lance also watches Shiro and Allura become closer and closer.</p><p>That shouldn't hurt as much as it does.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

From the Castle of Lions, Lance could see the setting sun.

They had landed so Allura could come down and speak with the natives. No one had deigned to speak with any of them, demanding to speak with their true leader, with the Princess. They only recognized her authority. Which kinda sucked, considering that Shiro _was_ the leader of Voltron itself. They should have recognized at least his authority. But no, they only wanted to speak with royalty.

After that, Allura had been in talks all day, going over battle strategies. Ways to bring the Galra here to their knees and force them to retreat. Ways that would bring no harm to the people already living here. Lance hadn’t even seen her return yet. In so many ways, he was happy he was just a Paladin. Not the leader of Voltron like Shiro, and not any sort of royalty. That looked like both sucked so hard.

The setting sun was so pretty, though. He wondered if Allura could see it from where she was.

”Lance.”

He turned slightly at Shiro’s voice, his heart picking up. Shiro hadn’t changed out of his armor, but his helmet was held under his arm. The way he filled it out... it made Lance question again just how straight he was. He liked Allura, right? So why did he want to trace each of Shiro’s defined muscles with his tongue? “Yeah?”

Shiro smiled a little at him, and _oh._ “Are you feeling okay?”

”Yeah, never better. Just... you know, looking at the sunset.” Lance waved his hand behind him. “It looks a lot different than Earth’s.”

”Hm.” Shiro came up beside him, and Lance turned to look at the wash of colors. It wasn’t the orange and reds he was used to, but a riot of purple, green, and blues with the oddest streak of white sneaking through. “It reminds me of Aurora Borealis.”

”Aurora Whatsis?”

”The Northern Lights. They’re a natural phenomenon that occurs in higher latitudes, such as Alaska. They’re...” Shiro let out a long breath. “Gorgeous.”

Lance’s heart picked up at the word, imagining it aimed towards him. But he wasn’t anything near gorgeous. At all. That was Allura. “Yeah. It is. This is.”

The two of them watched the sun set and darkness race across the sky. Lance could see Shiro turn to him out of the corner of his eye, and he felt Shiro clasp his shoulder. “Allura should be back soon. I doubt they would keep her this long after sunset.”

”Yeah,” he managed.

Allura would be back soon with the results of her talks. And then life would continue on as usual. Because of course it did. Of course everything would stay the same and he would continue to wonder what the hell he was doing with his life.

Shiro’s hand was very, very warm.

* * *

Allura and Shiro instantly went to talk over battle plans as soon as Allura came back. Lance tried not to feel a little left out - he wasn’t a big plan person - but... he kinda felt left out and he didn’t know why.

The night sky was just as gorgeous. It wasn’t inky black; stars dotted the sky with brilliance. Something he had never seen until he became a Paladin of Voltron and encountered places where they didn’t use harsh lights to illuminate their every waking moment and clog the sky up with light pollution. He wished he could go see the stars outside the Castleship, but they still didn’t know how hostile the local wildlife was after dark.

Lance sighed, turning away from the window. He needed his beauty sleep. No matter how pretty the sky was, he needed to sleep.

If the Galra would just come so they could liberate this planet, that would be nice. He knew how to handle that. Blow stuff up. Work with everyone to fight the bad guys. This kind of... planning and plotting, he didn’t know how to do. Yeah, he could handle it once they came, but- he felt kind of useless right now. Why was he even here? What was he doing?

There was so much he could be doing. But nothing that would make a difference here.

Lance shook his head. Enough of that. If he was thinking like that, it was definitely bedtime. He stretched, feeling something in his back pop. Mm, that felt good. He would need to spend some extra time in the shower tonight, let the water soak into his muscles. That would just feel really good.

Allura’s voice paused his steps. It always did. Her accented voice always sank deep into him and caught a part of him he didn’t even know about. She was so attractive and so nice and so smart it wasn’t fair. Of course he wouldn’t have a chance with her. Even when she was angry she was still... still...

Still so perfect.

Lance sighed, ready to start walking again when he heard the sound of Shiro’s voice. It rumbled through him, plucking at deeper strings. Fuck. He had always been so straight. What was it about Shiro that made him _want_? He was starting to wonder what it was like to have another guy’s cock in his hand and it was driving him nuts.

And then there was a very wet sound, one that he knew, and he felt his heart sink. Slowly, he made his way over to where he had heard Shiro and Allura, and peeked into the room.

They made a pretty couple, that was certain. Shiro’s pale hand against her dark skin, tilting her face into the kiss was striking. A perfect balance of light and dark between them, beautiful to behold.

Beautiful and terrible.

Shiro was _straight._

And he was kissing _Allura._

And here was Lance with a big old confused crush on them _both._

What was his life, even?

Lance quietly made his way back down the hall, knowing he hadn’t interrupted them. He knew how to move silently, and they had been so wrapped up in each other he was pretty sure they wouldn’t have noticed.

Well. He should have known this would happen. The two of them were pretty much the leaders. And they were pretty, pretty people. Of course the pretty would gravitate towards each other. Together, they would be a strong united force. Like the new King and Queen of Voltron or something.

Leaving Lance alone to worship them both from afar.

He sighed as the door to his room slid open. Maybe this would be a good thing. Get over these stupid crushes. Maybe he could go back to being totally straight again and not this... confused mess. He was straight, right? Like, he liked girls. He really liked Allura. Shiro was just... one guy. Straight with an asterisk?

His mind whispered at him _bisexual_ but nah, that couldn’t be it. He just liked Shiro. That was the only guy that he wanted to kiss. That couldn’t... be enough, right?

... why was this so confusing?

Lance threw himself on his bed, face first. He shoved his nose into his pillow, groaning. Even if Shiro wasn’t straight and just happened to like Allura, it wasn’t like Lance had any chance to begin with. Shiro was their leader, and Lance was just... Lance. Nothing special.

Well. It didn’t matter now. Shiro and Allura were together and they had to go on from there. And anyway, they had an ambush and battle to plan for the Galra. No time to worry about stupid things like who’s dating who. He had to get his head in the game.

Yeah.

Worry about liberating this planet first. Anything dumb like ‘the two that I have a crush on are sucking face with each other’ can come once they’re flying in space again.

And _then_ he could go to Hunk and spill all his feelings.


	2. Chapter 2

Lance saw the way his body twisted, and he didn’t even think. Did exactly what Shiro had been training them to do. He grabbed his arm, turning his body so his attacker slammed onto the ground, and pointed his gun straight at his head. “Ha!”

Shiro smiled, going limp against the training room floor. “Well done, Lance.” He started to sit up, and Lance shifted his gun so he could reach a free hand out, helping Shiro stand. “You’ve been practicing.”

Ears burning red, Lance shrugged. “Just a little.” Just enough to prove to Shiro he was worth something. And winning against him during sparring was definitely proving something, right? “So, how’d I do?”

”Sloppy footwork, but you’re starting to get the instinct down. You didn’t even have to think about how to handle it when I came for you.” Lance beamed at the praise, his back straightening. “That doesn’t mean this is over, though. Holster your bayard. You’re going to have to learn how to fight hand-to-hand. Some day, you may not have your bayard with you.”

”Ah man.” Lance felt the gun change back to its travel size as he holstered it. “Fine. What do you _whoa_.” He dodged a kick, nearly tripping over his own feet. “Aren’t you supposed to to say ‘begin’ or something?”

”Begin,” Shiro said, voice deadpan as he twisted his body again, leg sweeping out towards his head. Without thinking, Lance dodged, weaving in. He didn’t have the same power Shiro did behind his attacks. But-

Lance dropped his shoulder and rammed Shiro in the stomach. Surprised, the two of them fell to the floor, and Lance quickly sprang back to his feet. He waited for Shiro to stand, only to lower his guard as the other started to laugh.

”That’s one way of doing it,” Shiro told him, rolling to his feet. “And-”

Oh look, that’s the ceiling. His jaw hurt now.

”Follow up on your attacks and don’t let your guard down.”

* * *

The sunset made it worth the bruises from today.

Lance didn’t think he would ever get tired of it. The mix of color was just so beautiful. And if he shifted, he could see a mountain range. The way the sunset nearly made the rock glow was absolutely breathtaking.

Just... everything about this planet was beautiful. Too bad it was under Galra rule.

Lance shifted, stifling a groan as he felt a bruise speak up on his shoulder. Shiro hadn’t gone easy on him today. Though, he had managed to get the better of Shiro a few times. He was doing well! He just... couldn’t beat Shiro on a regular basis.

Lance rested his head against the corner, eyes on the sunset. He knew Keith was able to beat Shiro about as often as Shiro could beat him. And he called Keith his rival. It was dumb. He was dumb. They all knew he couldn’t touch Keith.

But that was his measurement. To beat Keith. Because if he beat Keith, then he proved to Shiro he did well. So he had to call Keith his rival. Because it was the only measurement of how well he was doing.

Darkness spread over the sky, the sun having set. Allura still wasn’t back yet.

This was starting to be a thing, wasn’t it. Allura being with the native people until well after dark.

Maybe he should go to bed. He would not see Shiro and Allura not be cute and perfect together. And that would suit him just fine.

It really sucked. Here he was, pining after both of them, and he couldn’t have either. Well, he had kinda known Allura was not happening. Not after he had tried flirting with her as soon as she came out of cryostasis. That was dumb of him. Ruined all his chances of possibly ever getting with her. And that should have told him to give up on her, but she was just... Allura.

And Shiro was just... Shiro. He hadn’t really wondered if Shiro wasn’t straight because it didn’t matter because Lance was. Totally. Except apparently not. Lance ran a hand across his face, sighing.

He was such an idiot.

Lance started to turn away from the window, then paused. The natives were a race of mole people, and all of their cities were underground. It was the reason why there was no light pollution. But... was that light blinking on the horizon? Lance nearly pressed his nose against the window, trying to see if he could catch it again, but it didn’t happen again. He rubbed one eye, shaking his head. Tired. He had to be tired.

He started back to his room, yawning. Once he got his beauty sleep, he’d feel better. And hopefully soon Allura would be done with the talks and they could get started on actually fighting the Galra.

Strange thing was, this planet was under the rule of Galra, but they hadn’t seen the Galra anywhere. Not even a ship in space. Maybe they were stationed somewhere on the planet they hadn’t seen? Maybe that was what Allura was going over with the leader?

It didn’t sit right with him. Something was up. The Galra were up to something. Lance just couldn’t put his finger on it, though.

Things would look clearer in the morning, he decided. And he could ask Allura what was going on in the talks, if he could catch her before she left. That had been a pretty difficult thing too. Little wonder he had caught Allura and Shiro kissing at night.

Lance let out a little huff, not sure if it was laughter as he entered his room. How long had _that_ been going on? Did he catch the beginnings of a stunning romance, or nearly walk in on a tender moment between longtime lovers?

... did it really matter?

He let himself fall onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

Just liberate the planet.

Lance rolled over, closing his eyes.

Just do his job.


	3. Chapter 3

He could feel the hand around his cock and it felt amazing, just like the lips on his did. They were so soft, so... He smiled as Allura pulled back, her hand still around him. He could feel Shiro pulling him back, the broad shoulders a tipoff who it was, and his head tipped up to meet Shiro’s lips-

Just as Lance woke up.

Fucking wet dreams.

And now he was hard as a rock. Lance exhaled, running a hand through his hair. Well, that probably sealed the deal about the whole bisexual thing. He really hadn’t dreamt about Shiro before. But actually having a dream where they were about to have sex...

Welp.

Maybe he was? Training would suck today. Trying to spar against Shiro after jacking off to a dream to him and yeah, he was going to jack it. He was just that horny. But trying to look at him after that... yeah, that was going to suck.

Lance sighed, working his pajamas and boxers down. His own hand was a relief as it wrapped around his cock, pumping lazily. The dream had been so nice. Allura jacking him off. Allura kissing him. Shiro kissing him... where would it have gone? Would he have been balls deep in Allura? Would Shiro be working three fingers into him? Lance groaned, shifting on the bed. Fuck, the thought was hot. Maybe they would hold him down while they took their own pleasure, keep him from coming until they were ready...

With a gasp, Lance came, spunk spilling over his fingers. He laid there for several ticks, staring up at the ceiling.

So apparently he had a bit of a submissive side to him.

Good to know.

Grunting, Lance sat up, hobbling over to the bathroom to clean up. That was the bad thing about jacking off: All the clean up. Pidge had it so much better. She might have to clean off her fingers once she’s done, but she didn’t have to wipe down what felt like _everything._

Gross. Now he was thinking about Pidge masturbating and that was just... no. She was like one of his sisters.

Lance finished wiping down his happy trail and threw the tissues away. Now he could sleep. Preferably without another wet dream.

Yeah.

That would be nice.

* * *

God _damn_ Keith was fast.

Yeah, Shiro had been teaching him a lot. He had managed to beat him the once. But trying to land a hit on Keith was so _difficult._ Why was it him here and not Shiro? Was Shiro punishing him for beating him?

And then he saw Keith’s fist coming for his stomach and he wasn’t fast enough to stop it, the air knocked out of him as he fell. Keith followed him down, pinning him with his knee on his chest. “Do you yield?”

Lance just coughed, glaring.

”Don’t make me have to beat you up more.”

A hand pat the floor.

Keith sighed, standing. “At least you’re starting to realize when you’re beat.” When Lance didn’t immediately sit up, he frowned. “Are you sulking?”

”Nah.” Lance stared up at the ceiling. “Just... wondering why it’s your ugly mug here and not Shiro.”

”Allura took Shiro with her on the talks today. She’s made enough headway that she can take him along.”

It could just be that they now recognize him as the leader of the team, but the fact he knew Shiro and Allura were romantically entangled made the words sour in his stomach. “Oh.”

”You _are_ sulking. You’re such a goddamn child.”

”I’m not sulking! I just...” He sighed. “It’s nothing.”

There was silence, then Keith sat down next to him. “Considering you usually don’t shut up about what’s bothering you, this worries me.”

”Shut up! It’s- fuck.” Lance scrubbed his face with his hands. “Look. It’s a ‘me’ thing, okay? I can’t-” He lowered his hands, sighing. “You’re probably the best and _worst_ person to talk about this kind of thing.”

”Why do you say that?” Keith asked, confusion evident in his voice.

”Well... you’re gay, right?”

”Where the hell are you going with that?”

”And now we get into the reason why you’re the worst person to talk about this.”

Keith was quiet for a few ticks. “If you think you’re gay,” he finally said, awkwardly, “Pidge is better to talk about that than me. I never had a major coming out. I just knew. But... is this about Shiro?”

”What the hell?” Lance sat up, staring at him. How had he guessed?

Keith snorted. “It’s pretty obvious you have a crush on him. Hunk and Pidge have a running bet as to how long it’ll take you to figure it out. Looks like Hunk just won.”

”You guys _bet_ on my big gay feelings for Shiro?!”

That just made Keith laugh. “Or maybe Pidge won. I’ll have to ask her what the timetable looked like last.” He sobered, staring at Lance. “Is that what this is about?”

Lance rolled his leg across the floor, bending it at the knee. “Kinda,” he mumbled. “I think I’m really bisexual for Allura and Shiro.”

Keith fell silent. “I know you’re bad at seeing big things right in front of you...” He cleared his throat. “Shiro and Allura are together. For a while now.”

And oh did that hurt. “I didn’t know that.”

Awkwardly, Keith reached a hand out, patting his shoulder. “There, there?”

Lance laughed, a little bitter. “You suck at this.”

”I did tell you to go to Pidge!”

”And then kept talking to me anyway!” Lance paused, a thought occurring to him. “You have something riding on me figuring out when I figure out my big gay feelings for Shiro too.”

Keith yanked his hand back, ears turning scarlet.

”You asshole!”

”Like you wouldn’t take that kind of bet!”

He totally would have.

* * *

What was that glow on the mountains called? Lance had a feeling he knew, but it was slipping his memory.

Shiro and Allura had managed to come back early today. And now that he knew, everything looked like long-time lover behavior. The way Shiro looked at her... the way Allura stood next to him... just. All of it.

It hurt to look at.

Lance watched night fall outside, sighing. Everything about this planet was so gorgeous. It was almost a balm after hearing about his chances being flushed down the toilet.

He pushed away from the window. Time for bed. Time for another wet dream about the two people he couldn’t have. Never had a chance with.

A ragged gasp stilled his feet. It sounded like... Lance moved towards the noise, then rushed in towards Shiro’s side as he sat in the dining hall, human hand wrapped around the Galra wrist, his eyes wide and empty. “Hey. Hey, Shiro. Hey, man. You okay?” Lance bit his lip, his hands coming up in aborted attempts to touch him. Probably bad idea. Really bad. “Yo. Shiro. You can hear me, right? You know you’re here in the Castle of Lions, yeah? Like, I’m Lance, your Blue Paladin, and you’re in the Castle of Lions?” Was he getting through? “So, um... everything’s fine. You’re all safe and all that. Shiro?”

Slowly, Shiro looked at him, his breath coming quickly. “Lance?” he whispered, not quite seeing him yet.

”Yeah! And you’re in the dining hall in the Castle of Lions. You know where that is, right?”

Shiro nodded, swallowing. “I-I do.”

”Good! I- um... so, you’re safe. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

Shiro nodded, a little too fast. Then he exhaled hard, wrapping up around his Galra arm. Lance reached out to touch him, then pulled his hands back. What if that was a bad thing and made him worse? “I’m okay,” came the muffled response. “I’m... I’m okay.”

”Okay,” Lance repeated. “Um... can I touch you?”

He didn’t respond for a moment, then nodded. Lance reached out tentatively, rubbing a hand down Shiro’s human arm. He did that until Shiro straightened up, exhaling. “Thank you.”

”As long as you’re okay.” He had never seen that before. Fuck. That scared him. He knew Shiro had PTSD, but he had never seen something that bad before. “Do you need anything?”

Shiro shook his head. “I’ll be fine,” he told him quietly. He took the hand resting on his arm in his own, squeezing. “You should get to bed.”

”Yeah.” Lance stood slowly, not yet letting go of Shiro’s hand. “You too.”

Shiro smiled sadly at him, slowly letting go of his hand. “Yeah.”

He knew what that meant.

He wasn’t getting any rest after that.

Lance didn’t blame him.

He was pretty certain he was going to wake up with a nightmare of his own tonight.

”Goodnight, Lance.”

”Goodnight, Shiro.”


	4. Chapter 4

They had to be close to figuring something out. This was getting ridiculous.

Lance blew out a long breath, looking up at his ceiling. Shiro and Allura were out, _again_ , on talks. Which meant they were still here on this planet, not doing anything. He kind of wished he could go with them, because this was just boring. At least the talks would be boring in a different way.

But... shouldn’t they have seen something Galra related yet? Lance frowned, sitting up in his bed. Did the Galra just not care about this planet? If that was the case, then what could they do? The Galra would just ignore them until they stirred up trouble, and even then it might take a while for them to get there. And Lance had a feeling stirring up trouble was what Allura and Shiro were arguing against.

Lance sighed, falling back onto his bed. At least it kept him from being stupid at Shiro and Allura. And kept Pidge from cackling too hard because he wasn’t being stupid around them. Note to self: Never tell Keith anything. He could not keep anything from Pidge. Though, he wondered how much of it was trying to keep it from her and how much of it was free sharing.

Probably all of it was free sharing.

He did suspiciously seem to have Pidge and Hunk’s desserts yesterday.

Lance rubbed his face. His teammates were betting on his love life. How pathetic was he? With a groan, he sat up again, swinging his legs out so they were dangling off the side of the bed. He was so pathetic that Hunk, Pidge, and Keith could find entertainment in him. That’s great.

Whatever.

It was probably sunset anyway. Lance made his way down to the set of windows facing the sunset, crossing his arms once he got there.

The sky was so _weird_ in comparison to Earth. Colors he hadn’t imagined in a sky floating by, and then this beautiful Northern Lights-like sunset... Lance sighed, watching as the sun set and the mountains glowed. It would be nice to watch it with someone, like Allura. Or Shiro. Just... be with them.

Maybe he was too childish? That was why neither of them wanted him? Lance had been an idiot when he first met Allura, trying to flirt with her immediately. And how he had acted when they rescued Shiro... maybe all of that had tainted their thoughts of Lance from that moment on, that he was too much of a child for an adult relationship like that.

Of course he would be his own downfall.

Lance closed his eyes, inhaling deeply.

”It’s called alpenglow.”

He opened his eyes at Shiro’s voice, turning slightly. Shiro was still in his armor sans helmet. “Hm?”

”That glow on the mountains. It’s called alpenglow on Earth.”

”Oh.” Alpenglow. That was a pretty word. Lance turned back, watching the alpenglow.

Shiro came up next to him, watching as well. “We move out tomorrow,” he told him quietly. “Reconnaissance. There’s a desert west of here. No cities lay beneath it, so the ground isn’t weakened. I want Blue and Black to survey the location.”

Lance’s heart picked up as he turned to Shiro. He wanted Lance to go with him while scouting out their battlefield? “Yeah. Yeah, sure, I can do that.”

”Good.” Shiro paused, then turned to him. “Lance... I consider you a valuable part of the team. You’re an important part, and...” He reached out, and gentle human fingers touched his cheek. “You’re important to me.”

Oh, and if he thought his heart was pounding before. Was he saying what...?

Shiro licked his lips. “I suppose you know of Allura and me by now?”

”Yeah,” he breathed. “I mean, yeah. I do.”

”Allura... is rather pushing me to do this.”

And with that, he leaned down, capturing Lance’s lips with his own.

For a moment, everything was perfect. Lance’s eyes closed slightly as he kissed back, trying to turn a lazy, easy kiss into something more.

And then what he said about Allura hit him, and he broke the kiss, looking down. “Shiro...” Lance shook his head, trying to ignore how turned on he was right then and there. “You’re with Allura.”

Shiro paused, his hand stroking over Lance’s hair. “I can tell you Allura knows that I wished to do that, and that she encouraged it.”

So he just wanted to kiss Lance. At least he knew he found Lance attractive.

”She’s... apparently Alteans were polyamorous and she was a little surprised that I was putting up as much a fight as I was about my feelings for you.”

Lance looked up, inhaling sharply at that. What?

Shiro smiled a little at him. “Is that okay, Lance? I know you had feelings for Allura in the past, but I don’t know if you want to do multiple-”

”It is everything perfect and good and kiss me again.”

Shiro just laughed, leaning in to kiss him.

* * *

Alteans were poly.

That was _great._

Lance danced in his room, laughing. Shiro had insisted no sex, which sucked, but still. Allura was _poly_ and she expected Shiro to be too. Which meant it was okay for him and Lance to be lovers.

Hell, that might mean Allura might want to be with him too! Lance spun around and let himself fall onto his bed, sighing. _And_ Shiro wanted him to go on a mission that would finally end this boredom. Everything was looking up!

And he learned a new word.

Alpenglow.

He wanted to see every sunset and alpenglow with Shiro and Allura from now on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like legit, this is how I see the conversation between Pidge, Hunk, and Keith going.
> 
> Keith: I get all your desserts.  
> Pidge: He figured out he's gay?  
> Hunk: Aw man. One more day and I'd win.  
> Pidge: Yeah, that means I win, not y... ou... aw fuck.  
> Keith: Yup. He has a crush on both Allura and Shiro.  
> Pidge: I hate you.
> 
> Totally free sharing.


	5. Chapter 5

Why did he ever want boring in a different way?

Because flying over miles and miles and _miles_ of desert was _boring._ And it wasn’t like he could talk to Shiro because while Shiro kissed him last night (and boy that sentence wasn’t going to get old soon), it was... kinda awkward now. He was team leader now, not Shiro-who-might-be-Lance’s-boyfriend. If that was how they were doing things. He really needed to ask once they got back.

Also, what was going to happen with Allura? He didn’t hear anything about how she was interested in Lance. Was he just not enough for her? Too childish? She was pretty perfect herself. Hell, it was a miracle someone as perfect as Shiro was interested in _him_. There wasn’t room in the entire universe for two miracles like that.

Lance’s hands tightened on the control sticks. Maybe he was just a fun diversion for Shiro. Fuck the Blue Paladin for a while and then go back to his perfect princess. Shiro never told him that Alteans _maintained_ poly relationships. That could mean that they fucked where they pleased without any strings. Which means Shiro might do the same to him.

Shiro would never do that to him, though.

Right?

”There’s not a lot of cover.” Lance jumped at Shiro’s voice, feeling guilty at thinking that Shiro would just fuck him and leave him. “That could be good or bad.”

”They can’t hide, but we can’t take cover if we need it.”

”Exactly.” Shiro veered off to one side, and Lance followed suit. “We can form Voltron if we need to, but we might take heavy fire in the meantime.”

Lance nodded. That wasn’t ideal. His Lion was balanced, sure, but that meant it wasn’t crazy fast to get out of range like Red or able to tank hits like Yellow. “We should get back to the-”

The console lit up, warning messages blaring about incoming enemies. Lance’s pulse quickened as he saw the mass of dots. Where had they all come from? And why were they moving now? “Shiro.”

”I see them.”

He could barely hear Shiro hailing the Castle of Lions, hailing their backup as the Galra ships came into view.

That was a lot of ships.

That was-

”It’s an ambush!”

It would take at minimum five minutes for anyone to get out here. Five minutes for them to survive. And it would just be survive. Two Lions couldn’t take down that many fighters. They either needed all five working together, or Voltron.

”Shiro...”

”They’re on their way.”

And then there was no more talking as the enemy engaged them. Lance dodged incoming fire, returning in kind. He grit his teeth as he weaved through the shots, then grunted as his Lion was hit, rocking in his seat from the force of the hit. “Damn it!”

”Lance, is everything okay?”

Keith must have finally gotten into his Lion. “Could use you over here!”

”I’m about five minutes out. Pidge and Hunk are right behind me.”

”We’re going to be about a minute behind him,” Pidge said, her voice finally crackling over the com link. “We can’t keep up with Red like that.”

”Make that a fast five minutes! We have tons of company here!” Blue took another hit, and Lance’s head hit the back of his seat. He inhaled sharply, suddenly very glad he wore a helmet. Even still, that had hurt. He dodged again, taking down a few more ships. “Shiro, how’re you doing?”

”Taking heavy fire,” came the short response.

”Fair enough,” Lance muttered. They both were. This wouldn’t be that much of an issue with five of them, but two... Blue took another hit, and was sent sprawling over the sand. The way the harness pressed his armor into his skin would leave so many bruises. Quickly, he urged Blue back up, feeling her thrusters struggle a bit as he did. Damn it.

”Keith.”

”Three minutes.”

”Make it faster, mullet.”

They had to do this. They had to survive. Lance shot down more fighters, and when he dodged again he could feel Blue responding a little more sluggishly under his hands. Damn it. She had taken a lot of damage in that fall. He grit his teeth, weaving through the shots before getting hit again.

When he finally looked up, he saw a fighter crash into the back of Black, and watched in horror as Black fell. She slammed into the ground, and didn’t get back up.

”Shiro!”

”What happened?” Pidge asked, her voice urgent.

”One of the fighters suicided into Black. Shiro, c’mon, tell me you’re okay... Shiro, man...”

There was no response.

When Blue was hit again, it occurred to Lance that if Shiro wasn’t responding, he was very, very alone against countless fighters. “Keith, get here. Shiro’s not getting up.”

”Almost there.”

All of their attention was on him now. Lance dodged, his hands tight on the control sticks. He didn’t have time to return fire. All he could do was survive until Keith showed up and took some of the heat off him. He might not be able to do that- there were so many- “Shiro, c’mon, talk to me...”

Shiro didn’t respond.

And Blue was responding slower and slower to him with each hit, struggling more and more...

”Okay, somebody!”

There was a laser flying right by Blue’s nose, taking out several fighters. “You can shut up now,” Keith said tersely. “Pidge and Hunk will be here soon too.”

Lance nodded, finally returning fire again. He could see at least a little thinning of the crowd? Maybe? He tried to dodge, grunting as he was hit. “Damn it!”

”Try dodging better!”

”Blue’s taken a lot of damage, asshole! Can’t exactly pilot her the way I want to.”

”We’ll be there soon,” Hunk told him. “If you’re not too badly hurt, I think Blue and Yellow can sandwich Black and fly back.”

”We’ll have to get these assholes off our backs first!” Maybe they were thinning? Or was he seeing things?

”Leave that to me,” Pidge said, her voice serious. “I have a new toy I want to try out.”

Lance shivered. Pidge and her toys either were awesome, like the cloaking device, or were very, very scary. “Well, get here soon!”

Black still didn’t move.

”Fall back!”

Lance didn’t even question. He and Keith followed Pidge’s order, exiting the crowd of fighters.

Then-

It was like a supernova went off in front of him. Blue shut off all external displays, leaving him to blink away the after images. Once they came back on, all the fighters laid smoking on the ground. “Holy shit, Pidge!”

”Yeah, who’s a bad bitch now?”

”What the hell was that?”

”Kinda a Galra-focused EMP. Let’s get Black out of here before any more show up.”

Blue and Yellow made their way over to Black, carefully pressing the Lion between them and lifting up. It was shaky, but it worked, and Black dangled limply between them. “Keith, Pidge, cover us.”

Slowly, they started their way back. Lance swallowed hard, his hands shaking. Shiro still wasn’t responding. What had happened? Was his com link just fried somehow? Did Black take enough damage that she couldn’t get back up? What happened?

They were halfway there when a display came back up, enemies showing again. “Damn it!”

”Quiznak! Looks like reinforcements. Lance, Hunk, take Black to the Castle. We’ll hold them off here.”

Lance grit his teeth, but that was the best choice. They had to get Shiro back to the Castle, incase he was hurt and needed medical attention. “Don’t die.”

The flight back to the Castle took far too long. But finally, they made it, and carefully Blue and Yellow landed, letting Black down slowly. Lance hopped out of Blue quickly, going over to Black. “Open, open, open.” When her mouth opened, he crawled in, going straight for Shiro.

Who was laying there unconscious. Lance grit his teeth, getting Shiro out of his harness and pulling off his helmet. There was- dried blood on the back of his head. Hit it, hard enough to bleed. Hard enough the helmet didn’t protect him from bleeding.

”Shiro!”

Allura’s voice broke him out of his thoughts. “He’s unconscious!” Lance yelled down at her. “He’ll need time in the cryopod!”

There was silence for a moment, then he could hear Allura climbing into the Lion. When she finally pulled herself in, her lips were pinched and thin in worry. “Lance...”

”I’m going to need help getting him out,” he told her, trying to keep his voice from shaking. “I can’t-”

”I can.” She carefully pushed him aside, scooping Shiro up as if he weighed nothing. Damn.

Lance nodded, wiping his mouth. “I need to-”

”Go.” Her voice was gentle. “I’ll take care of him.”

Lance nodded again, making his way out of Black and back to Blue. When he finally situated himself back in, Yellow had already left for the battle. “C’mon girl,” he whispered. “Let’s go.”

* * *

”They deceived us.” 

Allura’s cold voice rang through the air, firm. Lance just stood there, exhausted. Both Lion and pilot were battered and tired, and not up for this shit. “So what are we going to do?” Pidge asked as Allura stood there in her flight suit, ready to do battle.

”I will meet with the Autarch,” Allura said, her hands caught into fists at her sides. “Lance, if you will go with me?”

”Huh?” What the what now?

”I will need to show a strong front, and who they consider my consort is not able to come with me. As Our Third, you will show as a leader in his stead.”

Our Third. Sounded fancy.

”Leader?” Keith balked at that. “Lance is a lot of things, but a leader-”

”Silence. It doesn’t matter what kind of leadership he actually shows, only if the Autarch believes he is one.

”Uh, we might have to put that off, Princess!” Coran’s voice interrupted them as a display showed on the Castle wall. “We have company!”

A Galra fleet, hovering overhead the planet.

And their Black Paladin, still in medical cryostasis.

”Quiznak.”

”Pidge, watch your language.”


	6. Chapter 6

Lance could watch everyone start to panic. They had wanted the Galra to come to them, but not like this. Not with Shiro out. What had happened? Had the mole people been purposely leading them into long, drawn out, pointless talks just so they could contact the Galra behind their backs and wait for them to show up? Lance looked over at Allura, at the way her confused face cleared and set with determination.

”Pidge, can you add the cloaking device to the castle?”

”Yeah. I can even probably run it so it’ll run off the same defense systems it already has and use the Balmera crystal as power. It’ll work for about half an hour that way. Why?”

Allura turned to Lance. “We need to talk to the Autarch.”

Looked like she had come to the same realization. “Yeah, but is that a good idea? The Galra are right there, Blue’s still hurt, and Shiro’s still in the cryopod.”

”We’ll work on Blue,” Hunk assured him. “And we’ll let you know when Shiro’s out.”

”And the cloaking device should keep them from seeing us down here,” Pidge added. “As long as they don’t send scouts that run into us, that is.

Lance looked over at Allura. If he they went out now like this, he was a liability with how sluggish Blue was reacting and they couldn’t form Voltron without Shiro. And they did need to figure out what the hell was going on. “Yeah. Sure. Allura, what do you need me to do?”

”Come with me, and don’t speak. Just look angry.”

Angry. He could do that.

* * *

The walk to the caves was actually quite pleasant. And a little disturbing; Lance could hear barely any wildlife. That was common of planets ruled by the Galra. They came in and destroyed anything good about the planet, leaving behind ruin. So why did it seem like these natives were helping the Galra?

”Hey, Allura?”

”Lance, if you would kindly be quiet. I am thinking.”

”No, just... why is Shiro considered your consort? What is a consort? Why am I like the third or something?”

Allura sighed, rubbing her forehead. “An Altean consort is one that is not royalty but is wedded of the current single ruler. To the Maulwurf, Shiro is my consort because he is my equal in leadership. Our Third is the favored lover of both ruling parties of Altea, and can stand in for either as a figurehead if needed.”

”Favored lover, eh?” Lance couldn’t even scrape up a lascivious tone at that.

”Do not flatter yourself,” Allura said flatly, easily stepping over a log. “You are the only third in this relationship. If I had found my third, you would not be considered Our Third.”

”I know,” he said softly. “You would have chosen someone a little less of a child. Someone you could actually take on these kind of talks and be more than a figurehead. I don’t know how Altean polyamory works, but I know you don’t really see me like that. Kinda hoped you did when Shiro told me about it.”

That made Allura pause in her steps, turning to him. “You’re not as childish as you think,” she said gently. Almost as if she was realizing it herself.

Lance looked away. He wasn’t going to get his hopes up now.

The rest of the walk happened in silence.

* * *

”Princess of Altea.” It was obvious who the Autarch was when they entered. Only one was lavishly dressed in jewelry, gold and gems almost dripping from his fur, surrounded by five guards. “I would welcome you, but this is quite rude, barging in here like this.”

“Autarch of the Moldwarp.” Allura came to a stop, her spine straight and strong. She looked every inch a military leader at this point, dressed to go out into war. “Recent events have brought your actions into question.”

”Oh?” So moles could raise their eyebrows. Interesting.

”My Paladins were attacked on a simple scouting mission,” she said, her voice ringing through the air. “And not just from scouts of their own, but from what appeared to be an ambush waiting for them. At this time, a Galra fleet has come in, making it impossible for us to leave without a battle.”

”Are you accusing me of something?” Lance could almost feel the slime dripping off each word.

Allura was quiet for a moment, then her chin set. “Yes. Autarch of the Moldwarp, I accuse you of treachery. I accuse you of purposely wasting my time while contacting the Galra to intercept us.”

The Autarch leaned forward. “And you accuse me with... one Paladin at your back? One child to watch over you?”

Allura sputtered for a moment. “I-”

”Headstrong child.” The Autarch motioned, and two guards stepped forward. “You have the makings of a good leader. But you are ruled too much by emotion. Had you not come down here, you would have left with your lives.”

Lance didn’t even have to see the strike coming. His body was between Allura and the guard without thinking, his shield up just in time. He didn’t have time to pull his bayard, didn’t have space to fire it. But- Lance dropped his shoulder, ramming it into one of the incoming guards. They fell to the ground, and Lance had a fist pulled back for a punch before landing. A quick blow to the chin laid the guard out as Allura threw the other across his head. Lance rolled to his feet, pulling his bayard at the same time, feeling it transform as he came to his feet. He aimed it, carefully shooting as the other three guards came for them. One was hit squarely, falling, and the other in the shoulder due to Allura rushing in to grab the third, slamming him against the ground as Lance lined up the next shot and downed the last one.

Lance didn’t lower his gun as Allura stood back up. “Autarch of the Moldwarp,” she said, her voice cold with fury. “I am more than a headstrong child.”

The Autarch sat back. “And yet you ‘liberate’ planets without thinking twice,” he told her, his voice equally cold. “We were a race nearly wiped out by the wild fauna. We survived by burrowing underground, but food was scarce. We were eating _worms_ , Princess. And then the Galra came, and offered us weapons in exchange for our help. In exchange for our help and keeping our environment stable, they offered us a chance at survival against the dorgo so we could hunt, so we could gather and bring back the food needed not just to survive, but to _thrive._ ”

They had weapons. To hunt. That was why the wildlife was nearly gone. It wasn’t the Galra. It was the Moldwarp.

”You speak of a partnership with the Galra,” Allura said, her voice barely above a whisper.

”I speak of doing what is best for my people. ‘Liberating’ them would put us back where we started: a scared race, unable to thrive. I will not allow that again.” The Autarch looked around, at his guards, and sighed. “I will give you one chance, Allura of Altea. Leave now, and I will not sound the alarm and let the Galra know you have not left. If they are here, looking for you, I doubt if you leave without another word that you will leave this planet alive as it is.”

Lance wanted to say something. To shake the Autarch down, to force him to see their way.

Instead, he followed Allura’s example of bowing and leaving.

His hands shook as he put his bayard away.

* * *

”It’s called alpenglow.”

”Hm?” Allura paused in her work, looking over at Lance.

”Shiro told me. That glow on the mountains? It’s alpenglow.” Lance’s hands balled into fists by his side, shaking. “I should have known. It’s too beautiful here for Galra rule. There had to be something up. Something weird.”

”I didn’t see it either,” Allura told him gently. “I had no idea the Moldwarp were working with the Galra.”

Working with the Galra. And he had heard the Autarch’s reasoning. Lance’s teeth grit. What if it happened again? They couldn’t be the only ones. What if they ran into another planet that was working with the Galra? What could they do?

”Hey.” Pidge’s voice broke him out of his thoughts. “So Blue’s up to 98%. Most of it was sand; that was dumped pretty easily. The rest we fixed pretty quickly. You need to actually run real repairs, but otherwise, Blue’s ready to go.”

Lance nodded, turning to her. “Okay. How’s Shiro?”

She shook her head. “Getting there. He was pretty battered up after being thrown around in the harness like that and getting his head smashed.”

The words bit into him. Shiro had been hurt. It was a matter of course given they were all Paladins, but still. It hurt.

”How much longer do we have?” Allura asked.

”Cloaking will go out in two minutes, give or take. You want us to go out and fight, carve out a path for you to take off?”

Allura paused, then nodded. “I will send Shiro as soon as he’s able.”

Pidge nodded. “Come on, Lance. Let’s go do our job.”

”Yeah.” Lance started to leave, only to hear his name called by Allura. “Hm?”

”Be careful.” Her voice could be tender, but nah. He was just imagining things.

”Thanks.”

And then went to go do his job.


	7. Chapter 7

That was a _lot_ of Galra.

Lance weaved through the shots, gritting his teeth. This would be so much easier with Voltron. But Shiro was still in the cryopod, still healing... would he even be up to fighting once he came out? He had smashed his head pretty hard, and the helmet only protected so much.

”Allura...”

”He’s not out yet.” Her voice was tight with anxiety. “How are you doing?”

Blue rocked as she was hit, throwing him around in the harness. “Getting my ass beat down.”

”Please, do what you can. It looks as if it’ll just be a few more ticks.”

”Lance!” Hunk’s voice caught his attention, and Blue brought up a display of where Yellow was. “Could use you, buddy!”

”On it!”

If they were careful, they could win this, Lance realized. It hinged on everyone being careful and aware. And Keith not being Keith. Which meant they weren’t going to win this without Voltron because Keith not being his usual hot headed attack everything in sight self was nigh impossible. Then again, everyone being super careful and aware was kind of impossible too, he thought as Blue was rocked again by shots.

”We need Shiro,” came Keith’s grim voice, coming to the same realization Lance had.

”We really do,” Pidge said, equally grim. “Allura?”

”Few more ticks!”

”That’s what you said a few ticks ago,” Lance bit out. Blue was steadily starting to lose function again, and she moved just slow enough that he knew this was going to be hard. “We need him now!”

”It’ll be soon!”

Damn that mole man. Damn the Galra. He hadn’t realized anyone could feel that way, or that the Galra could have _helped_ anyone. They had always seen them as this poison, not as-

People. People that would be willing to help the natives of the planet in return for their help. It sounded so nefarious considering Galra, but everyone came out on top there. The Galra didn’t take and take and not give in this case. It was mutual.

What would they do if they found this again?

What would they do if the natives didn’t decide to waste their time and alert the Galra, but were outright hostile to Voltron?

The thought didn’t sit well with Lance.

”Keith.”

”On it,” came the crackle over the com link as Keith shot down two fighters. “You’re going to have to watch your own back some day, Lance.”

”Oh, like how you should stop being a berserker some day?”

”He’s out,” Allura interrupted Keith’s next words. “I’m sending him up now.”

Lance let out a breath, relaxing for a split second before having to dodge again. If Shiro didn’t get up there soon, he thought with horror, it wouldn’t matter if he was out of medical cryostasis. There would be no Voltron if one of them was dead.

And with how Blue was responding, he had a feeling it would be him.

Frustrated tears threatened to rise at that. He really was just a kid. He didn’t deserve any of this. Couldn’t even protect his friends and teammates right. Lance shook his head, biting back a bitter chuckle. He could see why Allura didn’t want him. It really was a miracle Shiro did. He was just some dumb kid.

”Lance!”

Just an idiot.

” _Lance!_ ”

Pidge’s panicked voice made him lift his head. And swear in as many languages as he could remember as he dodged an incoming fighter trying to crash into him. He may be a dumb kid, but he wanted to live, damn it! Quickly, he shot down three more, jaw set. If he was the weak link, then he would take as many as he could down with him. Take the heat off the rest of the team.

He could do this.

With that thought, he threw caution to the wind. Just take down as many as possible before Blue couldn’t take any more. Pull a Keith. He could do this.

”Fucking- Lance, what are you doing?”

He tuned out Pidge’s voice as he shot down two more, then nearly cried out as Blue was hit by several more shots, rocking hard in his harness. Just do it. Just take them down.

Three more.

Blue was sluggish under his grip.

One more.

He could do it.

”Everyone!” Relief hit Lance so hard he nearly cried as Shiro’s voice filled his ears, Black coming up next to him. “Form Voltron.”

The fight didn’t last much longer after that.

* * *

After seeing Allura stand there in her flight suit, a slim rod of forged steel, it was almost odd to see her in her dress, her hair down. The soft Allura, gentle, her fire hidden by a calm demeanor. Even though he saw this Allura more often than the other, it was so strange.

Lance stood in the doorway to the bridge awkwardly, watching her watch space drift by. He probably should let her be. After what had happened, it would have hit her the hardest. She was right, the Galra did some nasty things. But having someone tell her a reason not to fight the Galra, and have it be beneficial to his people... He turned to leave her alone.

”Oh.” Lance paused as he heard Allura’s voice. “Lance. I didn’t expect to see you awake still.”

”Yeah...” He turned back to her, hand behind his head. “I wanted to see how you were doing. You looked really deep in thought.”

Allura smiled at him, the turn of her lips sad as she came closer. “Today was much closer than I care to admit,” she told him. “And with the alliance the Autarch told me between them and the Galra... it’s been a long day.”

Lance nodded. “Yeah. I hear you on that.”

Allura looked up at him, then sighed. “I should retire to my room,” she told him. “Would you please escort me?”

His heart picked up at that but he squashed any hopes. She just didn’t want to be alone, probably. “Sure thing.”

Their walk was in silence, and he looked over at her as they went. Her face was clouded in thought, nibbling on her lower lip. She looked cute, Lance had to admit. Always did.

It sucked that he had seen the steel she was hiding under that dress. That just made her more perfect.

Soon, they reached her room, and Allura turned to him. “Thank you,” she told him. “You were... most magnificent today. I couldn’t have asked for a better Third to watch my back.” She leaned in, placing a small kiss on his cheek. “I believe I see what Shiro sees in you.” Allura smiled, stepping back as Lance gaped at her. “Good night.”

”Uh, yeah! Good night!”

When the door closed, Lance spun on his heel, pumping his fist.

Allura had kissed him.

And it sounded like she was starting to be interested in _him._

Miracles did happen twice. Fuck yeah.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be one more chapter, and if everything goes right, it should be out today. If not, it'll be out after work tomorrow.


	8. Chapter 8

The sunset was gorgeous. Especially after a hard fight.

Lance sat down near the edge of the cliff, placing his helmet in front of him. It had been one rough fight, and it took them planetside to finish it. He was so thankful they hadn’t destroyed anything; even if there wasn’t an intelligence race on this planet, it still sucked to destroy such beauty. And this sunset was gorgeous, familiar in its red and yellows. He placed his hands behind him, leaning back, and sighed.

He didn’t want to go back to the Castle of Lions. Not yet. Just a moment more to relax, to take in such beauty.

There was a sound behind him. Footsteps, heavy and familiar. Shiro stepped up beside him, staring out over the sunset. “Everyone’s been looking for you,” he said quietly.

”Just relaxing a bit,” he told him, looking up. “We leaving now?”

Shiro didn’t say anything for a bit, then sat down next to him. “We can stay for a little longer more.”

Lance smiled, looking back at the sunset. This was nice.

”You did really well today.”

”Hm?” Lance leaned forward on his arms, tilting his head at Shiro.

Shiro smiled a bit, leaning over. “You did really well.” He bumped his head against Lance’s, making him laugh. What a dork. “You’re doing really well out there.”

”Thanks,” Lance muttered, a blush crawling across his face. “You uh. You too.”

That made Shiro laugh a bit, leaning in to kiss him. One of Lance’s hands came up, stroking across his neck to cup the back of his head. He wanted to be pinned down, right here, pinned down by Shiro and made to do whatever he wanted-

Someone sat down next to Shiro. “It’s beautiful,” Allura said, her voice awed.

Shiro gently broke the kiss, turning to give her one as well. Lance watched, his heart squeezing slightly at the sight. It always did. The two of them were together first, and he was just-

Allura’s hand touched his as the kiss ended, entwining their fingers as Shiro sat back. She leaned into Shiro as she squeezed Lance’s hand. He did the same, their joined hands resting against Shiro’s back.

”Is that... alpenglow?” Allura finally asked, pointing.

Lance lifted his head slightly, following her finger. There was a mountain range, far off, and there was a slight red glow coming from it. “Yeah. Looks like it.”

”It is,” Shiro confirmed, shifting so he could wrap an arm around both of them.

The three of them watched the sun set and the alpenglow fade, entwined in each other before Hunk’s voice pulled them out of their reverie. “Hey? Lance? Shiro? Allura? You over here?”

”I think that means our rest is over,” Shiro told them, pulling his arms away. Lance pulled himself to his feet, helping Allura up as well. “Time to go back to the Castle.”

It was nice while it lasted.

But Shiro’s gentle smile towards him and Allura’s hand in his felt even nicer.

He really was the luckiest guy in the universe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much! I love you all for reading my Shallance story. Heart you all!


End file.
